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Tightrope walk across Grand Canyon

Miriam HallUpdated
Mon Jun 24 19:39:00 EST 2013

A 34-year-old man has today become the first person in history to tightrope walk across the Grand Canyon. American acrobat Nik Wallenda completed the 426-metre walk rigged up to microphones and cameras, so his attempt could be broadcast to a global live television audience. The daredevil did not use safety harness for the stunt, and a misstep would have meant a certain fall to the Grand Canyon floor.

Transcript

PETER LLOYD: A fearless American acrobat has pulled off a breathtaking record attempt, by becoming the first person in history to tightrope walk across the Grand Canyon. Nik Wallenda completed the 426 metre walk rigged up to microphones and cameras, so his attempt could be broadcast to a global live television audience.

Miriam Hall prepared this report.

FEMALE DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRESENTER: Tonight, as his next spectacular event...

MIRIAM HALL: The stunt itself was impressive, but it was almost overshadowed by the media hype.

MALE DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRESENTER: No tether, no net, no margin of error tonight. And we are...

MIRIAM HALL: Television viewers around the world were given a blow by blow account of the events leading up to the stunt. There was information on weather conditions, the details of the walk, and even live interviews with his family.

ERINDIRA WALLENDA: There's so many different emotions right now. I'm not crying because I'm worried about anything going wrong, but I'm just - I'm so proud of my husband and (crying) - I'm sorry, I'm getting emotional.

MIRIAM HALL: Nik Wallenda is no stranger to tight rope walks. He's a seventh generation member of the famous Flying Wallendas circus family. Several of his family members have been killed or injured in stunts.

Last year Nik Wallenda walked across Niagara Falls. Today's Grand Canyon walk was broadcast in 10 second delay, because of the high risk of falling. But he was still hooked up to microphones and cameras, to allow him to provide a running commentary from the wire.

NIK WALLENDA: Yes Jesus.

COACH: How are you feeling Nik?

NIK WALLENDA: Good. Lotta wind.

COACH: Yeah, I know it's out there, you're doing the right thing though - just take your time.

NIK WALLENDA: It was stressful. It was stressful. I mean, again, it's the combination of that wire moving the way it was, I think the tension really played a key role in that, and those winds. Those winds, as I said from the beginning, so unpredictable; and just out of the blue there'd be a 35 mile an hour gust and, you know, I was even looking down at the wind meter that was down there, the anemometer, and thinking, you know, that's too low for getting any accurate readings for what I am up here. And I was watching it, it was still going slow and I was getting kicked with wind.

MIRIAM HALL: With Niagra Falls and now the Grand Canyon now off his list, Wallenda easily named is next challenge.

NIK WALLENDA: My dream for my next time is to walk between two skyscrapers in New York City. I can imagine the millions of fans that will be there watching. And that really is what holds me up there - my fans. I can't thank them enough.

MIRIAM HALL: Anni Davey has been a circus performer for 25 years. She specialises in trapeze artistry, and trains people in all circus arts, including wire walking. She watched Nik Wallenda's stunt with great interest.

ANNI DAVEY: Obviously the training and the preparation is enormous. You have to be enormously strong. But you also have to be able to trust your body completely to not, you know, fail when you need it to correct its balance. Your reflexes have to be lightning fast, you have to be ... And so when I say concentration, that's what, that's what will kill you - a lapse in concentration, not a, very rarely a failure of gear or a failure of technique, but it's a lapse in concentration.

MIRIAM HALL: Can fear take hold of you as well? How do you keep that fear at bay?

ANNI DAVEY: You practice. You practice keeping fear at bay. Everybody should have a healthy respect for heights, and that involves fear. Some people have less than others, and sometimes that can be a liability, if you don't have a healthy respect for height, then you can possibly allow your attention to waiver or your concentration to lapse.

MIRIAM HALL: She believes, despite today's 24-hour media cycle, audiences still have a fascination with death-defying, live events.

ANNI DAVEY: There's a vicarious pleasure in watching something unfold where the outcome is not certain, because we recognise the skill and the mastery. Because we identify and aspire to those things ourselves, even if it's not walking across the Grand Canyon, at least making a statement or making some achievement which shows our control over our own environment or own circumstances.